Pipe tongs are often employed in the oil and gas industry to break apart or tighten together threaded tubular member connections. It is generally required that one set of pipe tongs grip and rotate one section of tubular member and one set of pipe tongs grip and hold stationary the other section of tubular member. Modern drilling operations usually employ powered pipe tongs, or power tongs. The first tong rotating the tubular member is typically referred to as the “power tong”, while the second tong holding the tubular member stationary is typically referred to as the “backup tong” or simply “backup.” Conventional power tongs include devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,671,961; 5,819,604; and 5,702,139 to Buck, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Power tongs are bulky and heavy tools, with larger tongs weighing more than 4,500 pounds and even smaller tongs weighing 900 to 1,800 pounds. To help handle these heavy tools, specialized devices have been developed to support the tongs and to move the tongs in and out of the position the tong occupies when working a string of tubulars. These devices are typically referred to as “tong positioners,” examples of which may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,142,042 and 6,318,214 to Buck which are incorporated herein by reference. However, there are improvements which may be made to these prior art tong positioners. Casing couplings and accessories utilized in casing strings often require the power tong and backup to be spaced further apart than is typical in prior art tong positioners. Additionally, it is often necessary to makeup or breakout casing joints at a comparatively greater height above the drill deck than when operating on other types of tubular strings. A device which addressed these and other difficulties would be a significant improvement in the art.